she saved our country. a grocers daughter and the first woman to be elected to downing street, thatcher was both loved and criticized for her conservative principles and combative style. >> where there is discord, may we bring harmony. and where there is error, may we bring truth. where there is doubt, may we bring faith. and where there's despair, may we bring hope. >> she transformed the british economy. helped keep the uk eventually out of the european union.

propelled the conservative movement here in the u.s. through her special relationship with ronald reagan. >> we've lost a great president, a great american and a great man. and i have lost a dear friend. >> we'll talk to former reagan chief of staff and bush secretary of state, james baker. and to the british ambassador to the united states. also this hour, president obama returns to connecticut in a last-ditch effort to shame congress into passing gun laws. he'll be meeting with newtown family, who will be flying back to d.c. with him on air force one. some of the parents shared their grief last night on "60 minutes." >> they need to not just look us in the eyes, but look our children in the eyes and the lost ones and see those faces, see what's gone. >> it's going to happen again. it is going to happen again. and every time you know, it's somebody else's school, it's somebody else's town. it's somebody else's community,

until one day you wake up and it's not. >> good day, i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. margaret thatcher, elected in 1979 as britain's first woman prime minister died today at the age of 87, she had been in poor health for many years. in her day she was indomitable. leading great britain for more than 11 years, longer than any british politician in the 20th century. she was steadfast and dominant. transforming britain after 35 years of labor government, to end union rule. leading her country to victory in the falklands war, playing a key role with ronald reagan and george herbert walker bush in ending the cold war. msnbc's scott cohen joins us and martin bashir joins us from new york. tell us the difference between margaret thatcher's great britain, what she inherited and what you see now as you look at

the city and the skyline of the uk? >> well it's very different, andrea, as you know, she inherited a lot of the same things that were going on in the u.s. at that time. runaway inflation, but slow growth. what she did was try to wring that inflation out of the economy, did that successfully. but not without ruffling a lot of feathers, to say the least. it meant taking on the trade unions, privatizing the industries, big companies, like british telecom, once state-owned. to all accounts, even as people look back on her legacy, some with sort of mix mixed reviews, depending on where they sit politically. this is a changed country and it really does go back to her. >> martin basher, when you think back on those years through the uk and how combative she was. think of her and having interviewed her, about her role with ronald reagan, nancy reagan has expressed condolences and sadness. but you know it from the british standpoint, also. how she was viewed, as she broke

the back of the coal mining union and took on just about everyone. >> yeah, i think you're right, andrea. that her foreign policy credentials are burnished and firm and true. she was an immense friend to this nation. of course britain, she allowed to house american missiles on uk soil. during that period of the cold war. she was also involved with ronald reagan in terms of developing a relationship with mikhail gorbachev and in 1999, the berlin wall came down and the soviet union was dismantled. but domestically she was a much more divisive figure. and it doesn't mat fehr you're looking at things like the unions and the mining industry or even to social issues like for example, the fact that during her tenure as prime minister, they were the wost race riots in britain. and she encouraged a very aggressive form of policing, which we knew as stop and search.

which people here describe as stop and frisk. and that provoked some of the worst social unrest in britain. she regarded nelson mandala, for example, as a terrorist. and for a long period of her tenure, she was actually relatively at ease with the idea of apartheid. so i think that the, that history's view of her will be far more generous when it looks at her overseas. than it, when it considers what she did domestically. >> martin, as well, when you talk about the relationship with ronald reagan, she had his back on very controversial issues, like the deployment of those intermediate range missiles. and at the time, if we remember, pierre trudeau from the socialist left in canada, francois mitterrand in france, she was the only other conservative spirit among the leaders and she had preceded reagan by a year. and so he looked to her for a lot of guidance and support. >> and andrea, it was a

reciprocal relationship. because when the argentinians planted their flag on the faulkland islands, margaret thatcher contacted ronald reagan and asked him to contact the argentinians in preference to any kind of military escalation. and ronald reagan, president reagan did that. he approached the argentinians and the letters and correspondence have been released. so i think there was a mutuality of support that was reciprocated repeatedly between the two of them and i think that's right. >> thanks to martin bashir and scott cohn, joining me on the phone now, james baker and former reagan white house chief of staff. mr. baker, thanks very much for being with us, your memories and your connection to margaret thatcher was so immediate and so personal. tell me about the reagan relationship with thatcher. >> well it was the relationship between margaret and ronald reagan was seamless.

andrea, there was never as far as i can remember, any differences between them. save perhaps one, when, when president reagan decided to invade grenada and we called margaret to notify her. we called her the night before the operation went down. and grenada was a commonwealth country. and margaret told president reagan. she said you know, ronnie, this is notification, it's not consultation. so she was a little bit disappointed about that. but the fact of the matter is, they saw eye to eye on just about everything else. in fact, i can't think of one other example where there was ever any difference between them. where there was ever any space between them. they were, they spoke for each other often. oftentimes president reagan would, would ask prime minister

thatcher to speak for the united states and the united kingdom and their relationship was really seamless. >> and you know, they were the economic side and also the geopolitical side. you were involved in both. let's talk first about mikhail gorbachev. when she first came out and said, i can do business with him. how influential was that? because at the time we had no communication, there hadn't been a summit. and we were just evaluating this new soviet leader. >> i think it was very important. for one thing, it enabled, when she said, this is a man i think we can do business with, it enabled republican president reagan and bush, to, to be able to approach their base with the idea that we should negotiate a peaceful end to the cold war. with the soviet union. because after all, if the iron lady felt this is someone we can do business with, then perhaps it was someone we ought to do business with.

it was very, very important. she was of course a strong advocate of free market and of freedom. i heard your, a little bit of your broadcast earlier. she of course broke the oppressive grip of the trade unions in the united kingdom and she pushed privatization. so she had a very, very important role to play economically, but also geopolitically. >> one of the big issues that i recall is what was derisively referreds to as star wars, the strategic defense initiative. i recall interviewing her and she really had ronald reagan's back on a controversial issue. because missile deployment in europe and also strategic defense was not a given in europe. where in most of the countries at least, the green party and others, were very dominant. >> well that's correct. and she had his back on that, on missile defense. she also had his back in many respects on arms control

negotiations and for that matter, george h.w. bush's as well. and these two republican presidents had a staunch ally and friend in margaret thatcher. a, the force of her personality, i think was what made her such a strong and determined and successful leader. who really, andrea, if you think about it, changed the arc of history. not just in the united kingdom, but also in the world. >> thanks so much, secretary gym baker. and another former secretary of state and national security adviser, and chairman of the joint chiefs, colin powell, general powell joins us now on the phone as well. general powell, thank you very much for being with us. talk to me about margaret thatcher, also the woman. i always felt there was a real connection between margaret thatcher and ronald reagan. he enjoyed her company. >> there's no question about it, andrea. they were, they were a pair. and why? well they had a common view

about economics, they had a common view about the power of democracy. and free economic systems. they had a common view about the evil of communism. and in terms of the way reagan and thatcher approached the soviet union, let's not destroy them, let's just show these folks what a better world is waiting for them. and it was that belief in democracy that you could show it to others as a candle to light up a dark place, is what i think made it so successful and what gave gorbachev something to work with. rather than implacable enemy, that we're out to destroy the soviet union. >> how, if you can remember this role, how do you assess her role as a woman, a woman leader in what was then the g-7 before the russians joined as the g-8? she was unparalleled. there had been a golda meir, but she was the leader of the uk at a time when we had never seen anything quite like it. >> no, we haven't.

and we used to kid, in the united states government about margaret swinging her handbag. but i always saw her as a great leader. a leader of passion. a leader of vision. and her gender kind of disappeared from my context. and so i think she did a lot for women. showing what women are capable of doing. and i think that's great. she inspired women around the world. but we shouldn't categorize her as a woman leader, she was a leader who happened to be a woman. >> and in terms of her political history, because i remember this very clearly, covering the 10th anniversary of the first gulf war in kuwait, i think you were there, brent scowcroft, president bush 41, i remember flying back to london with thatcher and john major and she really blamed him for a party coup that ousted her and there was not a word of conversation on that airplane between the thatcher and major forces on opposite sides of the same aisle. >> yeah, i mean there was

certainly an estrangement. and she felt she had been, been done wrong, if i can put it that way. by being ousted by the party. and i think she put the blame squarely on john major. but that's as far as i think i want to get into ancient british politics. >> okay. but your final thoughts here on margaret thatcher, who valiantly fought against illness, but has now succombed at the age of 87? >> she fought against the illness, i stayed in touch with her through charles polo who used to be her chief of staff, we were national security advisers together at the same time during the reagan years. i think she was a great leader. i think she will be missed throughout the world. and i want to offer my condolences to her family and to the people of the united kingdom. we need more leaders like her. who when they believe in something, they act in that belief. and they get others to join them in that belief. we need more of that in our political life today around the world and especially in the

united states. >> thank you so much, thank you general powell and our thanks to jim baker as well. much more on the life and legacy of margaret thatcher with sir peter westmacott, the bresh ambassador to the united states and tina brown. and it's a make-or-break week for president obama on domestic policy. with the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? [ crows ] now where's the snooze button?

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>> i would like every parent in this country, that's 150 million people, i would like them to look in the mirror and that's not a figure of speech, scott. i mean literally find a mirror in your house and look in it and look in your eyes and say, this will never happen too me.

this will never happen in my school. this will never happen in my community. and see if you actually believe that. and if there is a shadow, the slightest shadow of doubt about what you've said, think about what you can do to change that. >> president obama returns to connecticut today, hoping that he can sway public opinion to try to salvage gun control. or some sort of gun laws in congress. joining me now is ruth marcus from the "washington post" here at the table. chris cillizza for our daily fix from the "washington post," and jonathan martin, senior political editor at politico. chris cillizza, first to you, the emotional interviews on "60 minutes," they were heartbreaking, the white house was pointing all of us towards those interviews yesterday. hoping that would help sway public opinion. president going to connecticut and they will be coming, some of those parents will be coming back to washington with him on air force one. is this almost a last-ditch

effort before the gun legislation goes to the floor and we see the strong opposition that the lobbyists for the gun, gun rights and the nra and the gun owners of america have assembled? >> well i think it's sort of a last push, andrea. what's fascinating about it is, i don't necessarily think the public needs swaying. if you look at the public data, you have for extended background checks, you have somewhere between conservatively 80% and more optimistically 90% of people supporting the expansion of background checks. that's a broad category, what specifically would get checked in terms of background is up for debate. what sales would be covered. i tend to, this is not a public, the public has decided about the measures that are included in this bill. assault weapons ban was probably the most divisive, that's been pulled out of the bill. the question here now is sort of

political will in concerns about political prepercussions. the reality is that there's 14 republican senators up for re-election in 2014. one of them, susan colins in maine represents a state barack obama won. there are 24 democrats up for re-election in 2014, seven of them, including two open seats, are in states that mitt romney won. so there is is a concern, despite those numbers that when you have, that playing, the conservative states democrats are having to defend, do you want to take what will be undoubtedly a controversial vote on gun control and gun rights? >> j. mart, has the white house lost the leverage here? they're trying to tap into the emotion of these families in connecticut. but did they let too much time elapse? or is it just a case where they got outlobbied? >> i talked to some governors, andrea, when the governors assembled in washington as they always do, back in february. and we're now in early april and at that point, democratic

governors told me they were concerned that the public and the media had moved on. and here we are, two months after that, and so i think there was an opportunity in the wake of what happened. in newtown. and we've seen this pattern so many times as it relates to gun tragedies. after a few months, the public moves on. and the politicians move on. and i think there was some thought in the days after newtown, that maybe this one was different. and i think if president obama had acted immediately following his speech, at the memorial service in newtown, you may have seen some more action. because that was really a moment where politicians were looking around trying to figure out, maybe the rules on guns have changed. but time as we've seen in the past tragedies has marched on and with that, you've seen the less and less of an appetite among the politicians to make real changes when it comes to gun laws. >> ruth marcus, it's hard to imagine that after these few short months, and watching the

families as we did last night, that that has somehow dissipated? >> i don't think it has. and i think the fact of these families, their willingness to go forward with their unbelievably heartbreaking stories, i watched them last night in tears, really will remind people who were moved. and more to the point -- remind politicians, even members of congress have feelings. and i think that my friends there are being way too negative about this. you know, yes, you can ask a question about whether the white house should have moved more quickly. but i think we are going, i think we have a very good chance of ending up with in the only realistic place that we could have ended up all along, which is no, we won't have an assault weapons ban. no, very unfortunately we won't have limits on magazines. but yes, we can get background checks. pay attention to the language that the white house is using. the argument with the nra at this point is not over expanded

universal background checks, it's over the record-keeping requirement. and the rational folks on the side of gun control are willing to give up the record-keeping requirement. which would, i would prefer it. >> it's huge. >> but you're not going to get it. so therefore, they're talking about enforceable background checks, that's achievable. >> let me quickly ask you all about immigration and the other big issue, is the budget this week. because lindsay graham on "meet the press" said that the president had made a very useful first step. the president is going to be meeting with republicans again. what about immigration? this is the week, this could come as soon as friday. the gang of eight. chris cillizza? >> look. andrea, i think immigration, i don't always want to sound the pessimistic note. i'll sound an optimistic note. immigration is a place where i think you've seen a lot of sort of political will on both sides. particularly on the republican side. they know, i think they know that they have to find a way to put this behind them. i think they will, if you're looking for a place that

congress is going to do something immigration i think is the one to circle. >> we're going to have to leave it there. chris, thank you so much. ruth marcus, j. mart thank you for joining us today. and next, the escalating standoff with north korea, how does the world call kim jong un's bluff? plus the loss of an american diplomat in afghanistan, a young woman gives her life for her woman. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] are you really getting salon quality...

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we also know the rewards. >> nbc's katherine tomiack is traveling with secretary kerry and filed this report for us. >> hi, andrea, secretary of state john kerry is back in the middle east for the second time in just two weeks. he'll be here for two days, trying to revive the middle east peace process, something that was stalled during the first four years of the obama administration. he's here shuttling between top palestinian leaders in ramallah and top israeli officials in jerusalem. trying to revive that process and get the two parties back to the negotiating table. but big disagreements over

issues like settlements threaten to derail the process. this is secretary kerry's second stop on a six-nation tour. yesterday in istanbul he pressured turkish officials to to restore relations with israel. they were frozen in 2010 after a gaza-bound flotilla was raided and turkish citizens were killed. andrea? >> thanks to katherine in israel with secretary kerry today. kerry will be heading late they are week to asia to reassure alleys there in the face of threats of north korea. today the asian regime pulled thousands of workers from factories. a dramatic move for this impoverished country, hard to say what north korea is doing. joining me is veteran diplomat and former under secretary of state for political matters, ken burn professor at the harvard school. nick, i want to ask you about

north korea and then a word about margaret thatcher. i know you were involved in so many of those negotiations with the iron lady. north korea, is there any more clarity as to what kim jong un is doing? and importantly, whether china is now prepared to put more pressure on its ally? >> andrea, i think the big development over the weekend was actually the statement by the chinese president, xi jinping yesterday, where he said no country should be able to disturb the peace in asia. he didn't name kim jong un, but he was speaking about him. all through the crisis, china has been quiet and not been leading. let's hope this san indication that the chinese government will begin to use the influence it clearly has to compel north korea to cease and desist from these really outrageous, irresponsible actions and threats that it's making, both to the south koreans and japanese, as well as to the united states. and i also think the that president obama has been very

effective here. he's been strong, he's been firm, in upholding of course our commitments to south korea. and yet he hasn't been, he's been restrained at the same time. he hasn't given kim jong un anything to target at. there's been no statement from president obama on this. and i think that's probably the right strategy to try to defuse things as well as maintaining american strength. >> and nick, i know over the years you were involved in a lot of those negotiations and watched margaret thatcher in action, tony blair, the former prime minister just spoke about her leadership. >> the strongest thing about margaret thatcher is that she was a genuine leader. can you agree with her or disagree with her, but her character is undeniable. the strengths of her views were not just things that she held as views, she wanted to implement them and she was determined to do so. >> nick, how important was thatcher's role in the uk? and more broadly, her relationship with ronald reagan and her influence on the end of

the cold war? >> well there's no question, she was one of the strongest and greatest leaders of our time. she brought britain back. from a time when britain was not very confident. when it's world nuns was ebbing and she made britain strong again and a vital force in the world. i was listening to secretary baker and secretary powell as they reminisced on your program, andrea. and what i was struck by was the commonality in what they were saying. she was very strong intellectually. she's the one who really brought gorbachev to the attention of the united states when she said he's someone we can do business with. she was our greatest ally at the beginning of the gulf war. and encouraging us in 1990 to oppose saddam hussein's takeover of kuwait. and for britain, she was an exceptionally strong lead anywhere defending british sovereignty in the falkland islands in the 1982 war. we've seen very few people like

her and she's obviously made a huge mark in history. >> nick burns, we all remember her telling george w. bush, herbert walker bush, rather, not to go wobbly against saddam hussein when he invaded kuwait. thank you, nick, thanks for being with us today. and there's another loss today -- singer, actress, annette funai cello has died at the age of 70, she was the most popular member of the mickey mouse club in the '50s and went on to appear in beach party films like "beach blanket bingo" in 1992. funicello announced she was suffering from multiple sclerosis. she was born in new york in 1942.

margaret thatcher was remembered fondly by another close friend, nancy reagan. in a statement, the former first lady wrote, i've learned with great sadness of the death of baroness thatcher. she'll be remembered as one of britain's greatest prime ministers and her policies and

approach had a significant impact on politics around the world. joining me is tina brown and executive editor richard wolffe. >> you watched margaret thatcher over the years, she was controversial, her relationship of course, northern ireland. nelson mandala. a lot of controversies come to mind. and the strength that she exhibited, you remember better than i do, the ira attack on brighton. when she came out of conference. tell us about her impact, as a woman and as a leader. >> i sometimes think as well about her amazing performances in the house of kmons, she used to during prime minister's question time, great sort of gladiator session. when the prime minister has to acquit themselves before the rest of parliament, she used to slay the opposition her unbelievable preparation, because she, nobody studied longer or harder than margaret thatcher and these killer facts

that she would just hurl across the aisle with that handbag that would be kind of a shield in front of her. it was really amazing to watch. i love watching those clips and you know, you can see ones where she's going no, no, no, no. when it comes to talking about europe and it's pretty prod ijous stuff. you wish for that kind of decisiveness and approach today. >> richard wolffe, she took a hard line against europe on a lot of issues and laid the groundwork for britain's ability to with stand pressure and stay out of the e.u. >> she did she was pushing back against her immediate predecessor. so she became the voice of the anti-european view within the conservative movement. which by the way has progressed way beyond that to the point where there's a uk independence party. that david cameron, thatcher's successor as the conservative prime minister is struggling with himself. in many ways she opened the door to that. this was not a happy period, though in terms of britain's relationship. not just with europe, but with

its immigrant population. race riots where a sad factor, a repeated factor under thatcher, she did not respond well to that, either. so she was the product of 1950s britain. she didn't much like the '60s. the '70s were even worse for her. she was a backlash to that. >> and tina brown -- she did go against the grain in that she came out of the middle class. the grocer's daughter. what prime minister can we think of that had that kind of background? >> one of the things that i admire most about thatcher, actually. for all of her divisiveness and sort of unapologetic you know -- unwillingness at times to compromise when if fact it would have been good if she had, nonetheless, she didn't just break the glass ceiling, she broke the class ceiling. she was a grocer's daughter. she got a scholarship to oxford. she was rejected and smeared out and all the snobs you know didn't want to know her. she joined the tory party which was such a kind of men's club and such a posh place as well and such a kind of upper class

snooty place to be. she again she cut through that and she was very hospitable to the jewish members of the party who had been really excluded again by snobbery and antisemitism in her party. there were things about thatcher that i really admire almost more than other things that she accomplished. >> i had the good fortune to sit down with her a number of times when she came here for interviews and she was not an easy interview. especially if it was at all contentious, let's watch. >> i like mr. gorbachev. we can do business together. we both believe in our own political systems, he firmly believes in his. i firmly believe in mine. we're never going to change one another. so that is not in doubt. but we have two great interests in common, that we should both do everything we can to see that war never starts again. >> and tina, the other fact of thatcher was, she was such a large figure, even so many years

after she left power, this is a clip from the meryl streep biopic. >> may i make plain my negotiating position. i will not negotiate with criminals or thugs. the falkland islands belong to britain and i want them back. >> what happened in that clip? >> tina, i'm sorry if you didn't hear that. she was talking about the falkland islands, it shows you meryl streep's characterization of her which was so remarkable. >> remarkable. >> and also that she was such a large figure that she was the subject of a biography of a film, recently here in the united states. >> yes, well i think that people are now beginning to really book back at mrs. thatcher and realize what an amazing figure she was, really and how many things she broke through. and she realdy li did change britain foyer ever. she broke through the trade unions which was really bringing britain down. whatever one thinks about you know, that the hardness of

thatcher. the fact was the amount of strikes that were crippling britain before she took over were absolutely monstrous. she did reform those labor laws that enabled us to really see a modern britain emerge from that in terms of the economy. so she did a tremendous job for britain in that regard. >> tina brown. richard wolffe, remembering margaret thatcher, thank you both so much. next more on her legacy with the britain ambassador to the united states, sir peter westmacott, you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

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a brand new start. your chance to rise and shine. with centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. with our visionary cloud infrastructure, global broadband network and custom communications solutions, your business is more reliable - secure - agile. and with responsive, dedicated support, we help you shine every day of the week. you were the first person to say that the west could do business with mikhail gorbachev. how would you rate his chances of success, of really doing something to open up that rigid society? >> i think he's already made changes. i think the greater openness of discussion, debate, the public media and privately, is a very great step forward and i don't think that can ever be taken

back again. i think it's much more difficult to say to people who have been used to being told what to do, now you're going to have to take some initiatives on your own and take responsibility. how quickly that can come about, i don't quite know. i think it's absolutely right now to concentrate on agriculture. i'm sure that he will continue, this is his dream, his vision, he knows it's right. and he's a kind of person that will continue and therefore, i think he needs all our support. >> and joining me now is britain's ambassador to the united states, sir peter westmacott. thank you very much, ambassador, for being with us. this leader, this prime minister had such a profound impact on the united states, i did that interview with her just after george herbert walker bush had been elected and looking forward to whether or not the gorbachev legacy could be the end of the cold war and she had such confidence. she in talking to jim baker and colin powell earlier in the program, she was the first to

spot that gorbachev could be a different kind of soviet. >> i think that's right. she was very uncompromising on the cold war. she was very firm on the difference of principle and value between us and the soviet union. but she saw in gorbachev the opportunity to deal with a human being with whom she could do business, as did president reagan. i think that was one of the many things that blout those two together. >> this is the controversial side of margaret thatcher back home. we didn't see much of that here but in the people we talked to today, clearly she was very tough on immigration, she had a controversial role on northern ireland. mandala, other issues within the commonwealth. where she took a very hard line, an uncompromising stand. >> i think that in the united kingdom she remains a figure who does cause very strong views, passions on both sides. she was a controversial figure. as prime minister. there was strong passions in both directions. but i think she's a towering figure of recent british politics, she may go down in

history as the most important peace time prime minister in modern times. she did have a very strong view that was not for the trade unions to dominate the uk economy. when she was elected prime minister we had had the winter of discontent, we had called in the imf, we were essentially bankrupt and she felt that the united kingdom was headed in the wrong direction and she did some very, very tough things, she took on the miners, she took on union, but she also did other things, she spread for example, the appeal of capitalism. across british society in a way that had never happened before. she gave more people a direct stake in the economy in a kind of capitalist way. and that may have had a lasting impact as well. she was a reformer, a transformer, she was very tough, but she knew what she was trying to do. >> how remarkable was it that she was a grocer's daughter, a woman, not in the -- she wam from a different class system. from a culture, a political culture that was class-driven.

>> i think you're right, it was difficult and it was difficult to be a woman in a man's world in the conservative party in those days did not have many leading figures who were women. as well as the many who had come from the etonian background. so i think she had to stand up for herself in a very determined way. she had to make her views felt. sometimes for some of her cabinet colleagues she did that too forcefully. but she did break the glass ceiling that perhaps existed in british politics and i think that's opened the way to a lot of people since. >> we have a very special guest on the phone from california is former first lady, nancy reagan. mrs. reagan, our condolences because i know how special margaret thatcher was to you, the fact that she travelled to california after you left the white house and even for the funeral of ronald reagan. >> there was lots of trips at that time. for the funeral. for the funeral in washington, and then out to california.

i mean she did, she did everything. everything. >> how important was she in her partnership with ronald reagan, the conservative principles on the economic side and also in helping to end the cold war. talk to me a bit about how, how much he cared about her and her her. >> ronnie? did ronnie care about her? is that what you're asking? >> yeah. it struck me that they had a very strong personal friendship. >> oh, they did. they certainly did. from the very beginning, the first time they met. you know, she was the first state dinner that we had at the white house and the last state dinner was for her. >> we talk often about the special relationship between great britain and the united states. to me, it seemed as though these

two leaders really personified it and she was also a woman's woman. a woman in a man's world but i really loved talking to her as a woman. tell me more personally how she was with you. >> the same way. i think people thought that she and i didn't have a relationship. nothing could be farther from the truth. we had a very special relationship. and of course, i loved it that she and ronnie were as close as they were. >> and when she first said, i can do business with mr. gorbachev, that was a big moment, wasn't it? >> it certainly was. it certainly was. that's exactly what she said. we can do business with him. >> nancy reagan, it is wonderful to hear your voice. we think of you so often. and especially in happy moments

but also in sad moments like this. thank you so much for calling in today. >> it is good to hear your voice. and i miss you all. >> we miss you, nancy reagan. thank you very much. be well. stay safe. >> thank you. thank you. >> and we thank sir peter as well. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief.

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with thanks to nancy reagan for calling in. follow the show online. my colleague tamron hall has a look at what's next. we're following breaking news, two major development in the fight over new gun laws. in a couple minutes the senate returns from recess and there is word they may hold the keys to a big deal. and in a few minutes, the president is headed back to connecticut. late word that when he returns to d.c., several newtown

families will be on board air force one, ready to lobby congress. plus, a saddened to the search for two young children bur when i had a wall of dirt fell on them. their bodies recovered in the last couple hours. we'll have the new details on what happened there. and two republican lawmakers are now calling for an investigation into jay-z and beyonce' vacation to cuba of it is our "news nation" gut check. to meeting patient needs... ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ from finding the best way... ♪ to finding the best catch... ♪ wireless is limitless. ♪ welcnew york state, where cutting taxes for families and businesses

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for the little mishaps you feel use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster. neosporin. use with band-aid brand bandages. tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. e-trade. less for us. more for you. hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the "news nation" is following news from capitol hill in what is a make or break week for gun legislation. at this hour the u.s. senate is about to reconvene after a two-week recess. the first order of business for returning lawmakers will be the senate gun bill. a bill that looked to be in serious trouble days ago